The purpose of the Tawa town centre improvement project is to make the centre a more attractive, vibrant, and safe place.

We want to help create a destination that accommodates growth, attracts people, encourages diverse investment, and improves civil infrastructure – helping to support a stronger town identity.

The purpose of the project is to:

Create a vibrant town centre that attracts people

Encourage best use and investment

Improve connectivity and lighting

Contribute to the local marketing and branding strategy

Improve way finding between public transport routes, park, and ride facilities

Create functional and useable spaces.

Within the project is an upgrade of Tawa’s central plaza, which was identified as a key priority by the local community.

It will improve pedestrian connections within the shopping district and create a gathering space that is flexible to facilitate community events and support surrounding businesses. Artwork will also contribute to enhancing Tawa’s identity.

Project updates

Background

The Council has been working on a wider project within Tawa since February 2015 when it was approved by the Transport and Urban Development Committee, as part of the Long Term Plan. The wider plan seeks to improve Tawa town to enable urban growth and economic development, and the need to improve the town centre and infrastructure.

Initial consultations with the Tawa community started March-April 2015, and continued November-December 2015, and 27 July–26 August 2016.

Key improvements were put forward for feedback in July 2016 and then prioritised in line with the Council’s budget. The community identified upgrading the plaza as a key priority as it was viewed to have the most potential to positively impact the centre.